Romanian nostalgia trains in a Costa Gavras film

 

Constantin Costa Gavras chose Romania for the shooting of almost 90% of his film, having as subject real events during the years full of horror of the Second World War.

Eyewitness is an author film, the script and the directing belonging to Constantin Costa Gavras. The producer of the film is Mrs. Michelle Costa Gavras, the wife of the cinema man.

Although the action of the film takes place in the West - European countries (Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France) thorough and exigent prospecting, performed during year 2000, convinced the great director that Romania offers him the chance to find almost the whole range of locations and equipment that are necessary to shoot this artistic film and which has the purpose to suggest as authentically as possible the real frame where the events happened being performed the reconstitution of the times through the script of the film.

The shooting performed in Romania was contracted by the producer of the Cinema Company MEDIA PRO PICTURES (Buftea), the shootings starting in November 2000 and ending in April 2001. During this period, the shootings were performed under the direct supervision of the director, who was assisted by some of his traditional collaborators, brought from France and Germany (second director, scenographers, operators, and sound technicians). In the numerous roles of the film, besides actors from Germany and France, Gavras distributed also known Romanian actors (Marcel Iures, Mitica Popescu, Ion Caramitru, Horatiu Malaiele, Dorina Lazar and so on), together with numerous figurants selected from the areas where the shooting took place (Bucharest, Brasov, Sibiu).

Every day of shooting and every location, the working program imposed by the director (10-16 hours a day) was characterized by a high level of professionalism, under the impeccable coordination of the manger of the film, Mrs. Irina Chirita, who managed a working team, technical and administrative, that included tenth of specialists in charge with various problems specific to the cinematography.

In order to provide all the requirements supposed by the production of this film, there has been demanded the support and the collaboration of some central institutions of the state (the Parliament, Romanian Presidency, the ministries), of certain prefects' offices, city halls, police department and so on, numerous moments of the shooting for this film and various actions of the director being advertised in the written press and by the televisions in Romania.

In this context, in year 2000, the Ministry of Transport was demanded to provide shooting conditions in Romanian in point of railway scenes, which are pretty large and various during the action of the film. Responsibility not at all easy to perform, a special difficulty being represented by the provision of the railway rolling stock from 1930 - 1954; according to the requirements of the script, only a type of steam locomotive and passengers coaches and freight wagons. Additionally, once this nostalgia rolling stock has been established it must be guaranteed the utilization for six months without the occurrence of any irremediable damages, which would compromise the continuation of the whole shooting program and to cause significant material damages to the film producer.

After the analysis of the effective possibilities of CFR administration and after the organization, The Ministry of Transports approved the continuation of the collaboration in order to be produced in Romania railway scenes of the film Eyewitness. National companies of CFR assumed, indeed, an important responsibility, but finally this was rewarded with full accomplishment, for the prestige gained in a collaboration at European level, as well as for the material incomes obtained from the supplementary activities of CFR.

Asking the help of rail personnel that knows to exploit and maintain the steam locomotives that are still found in Sibiu, Brasov, Ploiesti and Bucharest Marshaling Yard depots, there could be utilized the locomotives 230,334 and 231,065 (preserved in Sibiu Depot) for the whole shooting program, unfolded on railway sections Sibiu - Calimanesti, Sibiu - Cisnadie, Sibiu - Brasov, Ploiesti Vest - I.L. Caragiale and Caciulati - Bucharest Baneasa, Bucharest Obor and Snagov Beach which are not electrified, where there was arranged, for several months, a location that suggested a prisoners nazi camp.

Nostalgia passengers coaches that were preserved in Sibiu and Titu, as well as freight wagons on two axles, covered, Gbs type, provided by Sibiu Marshaling Yard Station, have formed trains, in various compositions, necessary in the various scenes of the film on the railway.

With responsibility and hard work, tenth of the employees of the companies and CFR Rail Regions, up to the numerous CF sub-units in the territory, placed in the activity area of CFR Bucharest, Brasov and Craiova, have contributed to the well development of the shootings without any perturbations in the normal circulation of the trains in the graph.

The occurrence of this film signed Constantin Costa Gavras on the world wide screens, which will become, for sure, a great success at the international film festivals in 2002, will represent a reason for Romanian Railway to be proud and a good promotion, in the same time, due to the fact that it provides with a great professionalism a unique activity.

While years pass, nostalgia railway rolling stock, a real treasure still existing at CFR, increases its importance, as well as it also increases the interest for our railway past. This treasure imposes to be preserved and appropriately maintained by those that have and are able to decide this, any material effort necessary for the revision and the periodical overhauling are insignificant, compared to the real value of the unique samples existing in the patrimony. It is a way in which CFR demonstrates that Romania was and still is part of Europe.

 

eng. Mircea Suteu
film consultant for railway problems